Page 24 of Bound to the Orc Warrior

“It’s the bond.” His dark eyes spear into me as if he can see straight to my soul. “We are fated.”

Light bulb moment. I snap my fingers. “Fated mates! I read a book with that.” Actually, I read an entire series when Matt bailed on both Ferndale Falls and our relationship, entranced by the idea of the one who’d never leave you, no matter what.

“But I don’t remember anything about fated mates having a tether like this. Are we stuck tethered forever? Will we never be able to go more than twenty feet apart?”

“I don’t know.” Wranth scowls. “Perhaps it’s temporary. A way to ensure you have the protection you need to reopen the doors of Faerie.”

“So once I open the doors, we’re no longer moon bound?”

“We willalwaysbe bound,” he growls, his voice vibrating with conviction.

“You just might not be tethered,” Zephyr says.

At home, whenever I ran across something new, I’d dive into research, find the perfect book or internet articles. We’ve done these basic experiments, and they’re great, but it feels like we need more. “Who has information on things like magical theory? Do you have public libraries in Alarria?”

“No public libraries,” Shadow says. “We have something even better. We have dragons.”

“Dragons!” A zip of excitement shoots through me, because who wouldn’t be excited by dragons? “As in talking dragons?”

“Of course. All fae can talk, no matter their form or what realm they originate from,” Wranth says. “That’s why we need the speaking stone when the doors of Faerie are closed and magic no longer flows freely between the realms. Its magic allows all of us to understand each other.”

“Dragons. I’m going to meet talking dragons!” I want to dance with happiness. “This is so freaking amazing!”

Wranth’s mouth quirks up on the left in a little half smile, his eyes warm.

Oh!Oh, wow. It’s the first time I’ve seen it, and it’s authentic and a little vulnerable in a way that takes my breath away. This is him, truly happy and amused, and it feels precious that he’s letting me see it. Is this what all of his scowls hide? A softer side he tries to protect?

I don’t want that for him. He deserves to be happy. I might have only known him a short time, but Wranth is solid and true and protective and giving.

It makes me want to give something back. I smile at him.

“We should do more experiments,” I say. And if those experiments fling me against that hard body, well, I’d be doing it for science.

“No.” His little smile falls away. “Dinner time approaches, and I need to find a way to feed us since I can’t hunt. My magic might allow me to track animals easily, but I still need to be able to sneak up on them and run them to the ground.” He lifts an eyebrow as he stares at me.

“Right. Can’t do that with me around.”

“And as soon as I put on a burst of speed and ran ahead of you, instead of getting my prey—” He smacks his hands together. “I’d be yanked back to you.”

My stomach gives an angry growl at the thought of lost dinner. I rub a hand over it. “We can eat more hardtack.”

“That’s hardly an adequate meal.”

“I’ll hunt,” Shadow says.

We both spin to face the big cat. “You’ll what?” slips from Wranth right as I say, “Thank you!”

“I need to hunt for myself.” He gives a paw a lazy lick. “I can hunt for you, too.”

Wranth faces the forest and goes still, every line in his body tightening with silent effort. Magic tingles through the air. He turns fifteen degrees right and points. “That way. There are several rabbits in that direction.”

“Handy skill, that.” Shadow stalks toward the trees, his bushy tail waving like a jaunty flag. “Be back soon.” He disappears as I blink after him, unable to tell if he used magic or simply slipped behind a tree.

Wranth stomps over to where we left the packs on the other side of the meadow, and I follow. When he reaches them, he crouches and pulls out a knife to begin hacking at the grass. In less than a minute, he clears a wide patch of ground, leaving only the deep brown of exposed dirt.

In another five, he’s gathered tinder and kindling from the woods and has a small fire going. Once it’s burning well, he stands and holds out a hand. “Come. We’ll gather some greens.”

He leads us back to the river. We’ve ridden through the forest for most of the day, but this is my first chance to walk it on my own. The trees tingle slightly with magic, and even the moss seems to glow a healthy green. We pass a clump of mushrooms with dusky purple pointed caps.

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